800 Number Answering Time In FY 2024

 

From Social Security

NADE Newsletter

     The National Association of Disability Examiners (NADE) has posted its Spring 2024 Newsletter. NADE's members make initial and reconsideration determinations on Social Security disability claims.

About That Footnote

     Social Security is trying to worm its way out of the federal courts applying the new rule changing past relevant work from 15 years to 5 by saying in a footnote to a Social Security ruling that it expected the courts to apply the law in effect at the time of the administrative decision. 

    I wrote earlier that I didn't think that Social Security was getting out of this problem with a simple footnote.

    Here's a quote that may be of interest:

It is in the general true that the province of an appellate court is only to enquire whether a judgment when rendered was erroneous or not. But if subsequent to the judgment and before the decision of the appellate court, a law intervenes and positively changes the rule which governs, the law must be obeyed, or its obligation denied. If the law be constitutional . . . I know of no court which can contest its obligation. It is true that in mere private cases between individuals, a court will and ought to struggle hard against a construction which will, by a retrospective operation, affect the rights of parties, but in great national concerns . . . the court must decide according to existing laws, and if it be necessary to set aside a judgment, rightful when rendered, but which cannot be affirmed but in violation of law, the judgment must be set aside.

    Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that in United States v. Schooner Peggy, 5 U.S. 1 (1801). You don't have to go back that far to find the same principle applied. Try Bradley v. Richmond School Board, 416 U.S. 696 (1974). Want a case where this was applied to Social Security? See Hicks v. Califano, 600 F.2d 1048 (4th Cir. 1979). That one is especially applicable because it was a case arising from the initial adoption of the grid regulations.

    There won't be that many cases where the difference between 15 years and 5 years is outcome determinative,  I don't know why Social Security wants to fight over these few cases. Get it over with and accept the voluntary remands.

    For that matter, apply this at the Appeals Council. Don't apply res judicata to cases affected and grant reopenings within the two and four time periods allowed by law when requested.

Immigrants Help Social Security Trust Funds

     From The Hill writing about Tuesday's hearing before the House Social Security Subcommittee on future funding of Social Security benefits:

“The immigration surge, we project from 2021 to 2026, will result in about $1 trillion in additional revenue” over a ten year period, Dr. Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) told lawmakers during a Tuesday hearing. ...

Republicans — including former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump — have increasingly pointed to immigration as a drain on social safety nets for the elderly in recent months, including Social Security and Medicare. 

Top budgetary experts bucked those claims during Tuesday’s panel as they argued immigrants could have a positive impact on Social Security.  ...

Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kan.) pressed [Stephen] Goss [Social Security's Chief Actuary] on whether the SSA accounted for the “impact of illegal immigrants” in their yearly report.

“Absolutely, we always have,” Goss responded. “The bottom line really is that immigration of any form is actually a positive in the realm we are now where the birth rates in the country are as low as they are.” ...

    Isn't it obvious that illegal immigrants help the Social Security trust funds? They contribute but can't get anything in return. Of course, this won't be obvious if you believe that illegal immigrants are just "given" Social Security benefits as soon as they arrive but, of course, that's a myth believed only by the credulous.

Two Rulings On PRW

     Social Security will publish two Rulings in the Federal Register tomorrow on How We Apply Medical-Vocational Profiles and How We Evaluate Past Work.

    Here's a footnote from the first of those Rulings:

We will use this SSR beginning on its applicable date. We will apply this SSR to new applications filed on or after the applicable date of the SSR and to claims that are pending on and after the applicable date. This means that we will use this SSR on and after its applicable date in any case in which we make a determination or decision. We expect that Federal courts will review our final decisions using the rules that were in effect at the time we issued the decisions. If a court reverses our final decision and remands a case for further administrative proceedings after the applicable date of this SSR, we will apply this SSR to the entire period at issue in the decision we make after the court’s remand.

    We'll see how this plays out but I doubt they're getting out of this problem with a footnote.

It's Taking Longer To Get An Appointment With Social Security

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

 

Effective Date Of PRW Change Officially Pushed Back To June 22

     From tomorrow's Federal Register:

We published in the Federal Register on April 18, 2024, a final rule to revise the time period we consider when determining whether an individual’s past work is relevant for the purposes of making disability determinations and decisions under our rules. The preamble of that final rule cited an effective date of June 8, 2024. This rulemaking defers that effective date to June 22, 2024.

Wide Variance Between Regions In Number Of Customers Waiting Outside Field Offices

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

 

Wait Time To Get Hearing

April 2024 numbers. From Social Security. Click on image to view full size.

 

Ennis Finally Leaving

     Gail Ennis is finally resigning as Social Security’s Inspector General after an investigation determined that she tried to obstruct inquiries into her behavior.

PRW Change Delayed Two Weeks

     The definition of past relevant work for Social Security disability determination was supposed to change from 15 years to 5 years on June 8 but that’s now to come into effect two weeks later, June 22. At least that’s the word on the street. They’ll have to publish something in the Federal Register eventually.  I don’t know what the point is. This shouldn’t require much training. Did they only belatedly notice some policy issues that were quickly apparent to those of us who represent claimants?

Social Security Subcommittee Schedules Hearing

    The House Social Security Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for June 4 on The Social Security Trust Funds In 2024 And Beyond.

New Postings On Frustrated Claimants Blog

    My firm has started a new blog directed at Social Security disability claimants, rather than Social Security professionals. It's called For The Frustrated Social Security Disability Claimant. Here are links to some recent posts:

• Disability And Homelessness

• If You're Able To Read This, Count Your Blessings; If You're Not, Expect That Others Won't Understand Your Problem

• How Do You Give Good Public Service When Your Employees Are Really Unhappy? You Don't!

• From Social Security: Top Baby Names

• 47% Of Disabled Americans Aren't Getting The Help They Need

• On Being Disabled And Homeless In Rural America

 

 

 

Customer Wait Times

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

 

Memorial Day 2024

 

Let's Celebrate! Social Security Lost Fewer Employees In 2023 Than In 2022

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

 

Employment Discrimination Class Action Settled

      From WBAL-TV:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has given final approval to a $22.7 million settlement involving a class-action lawsuit against the Social Security Administration filed by some of the agency's minority workers.

The issues include employee rights, promotions and worker compensation. …

African American men who worked at the SSA headquarters in Woodlawn, Baltimore County, at any time between 2003 and 2023 are eligible to submit a claim for a settlement award. …

"SSA has agreed to be transparent about what is going on in their awards bonus system. For the next two years, every decision in every office will report what awards were given, what people receive and at what rate, and that will allow everybody to take a look and make a decision about whether the system is working in a fair manner," [Jeremy] Wright [an attorney representing the plaintiffs] told 11 News Investigates. …

It's Been Over 57 Years

LBJ at SSA Headquarters

     The recent visit to Social Security headquarters by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reminds me that the last time that a President visited Social Security was October 12, 1966. Lyndon Johnson was the President. Given Social Security's importance to the American people, it seems extraordinary to me that no President has visited Social Security headquarters in such a long time.

Belated OIG Report On Field Office Waiting Times

Photo taken on May 7 outside Raleigh FO

    From Customer Wait Times in the Social Security Administration’s Field Offices and Card Centers, a report by Social Security's Office of Inspector General:

... In February and March 2023, we visited 76 FOs [Field Offices] and SSCCs [Social Security Card Centers]. During these visits, we observed customer wait times and interviewed office management regarding best practices for reducing customer wait times. We also interviewed SSA staff to determine Agency initiatives to enhance the customer experience and reduce wait times.

During our office visits, we observed the wait times of customers throughout their visit for services. For the 76 FOs and SSCCs we visited, we observed the average wait time for customers before check-in ranged from 5 to 12 minutes, depending on the method of check-in. The check-in method(s) used varied, based on management’s discretion. Once checked in, customers waited an average of 32 to 45 minutes to receive services. We do not assert, and the reader should not infer, that our observations during our visits represent all SSA offices. ...

    Why did it take more than a year after the data was collected for OIG to issue a report?

SSA Stops CDRs For The Remainder Of The Fiscal Year

     From Emergency Message EM-24021:

With the enactment of our full-year appropriation for this fiscal year, we are lowering our Full Medical CDR t[Continuing Disability Review] arget from 575,000 to 375,000.

This reduction will allow DDSs [Disability Determination Services] to focus on processing Initial Disability Claims and Reconsideration cases. The field offices will not send additional Full Medical CDRs to the DDS for the remainder of FY 2024. ...

Do not assign unassigned CDRs pending in your receipt or staging queue. DDS should take no action on the unassigned Full Medical CDRs. ...

Age 18 Redeterminations:

If you have sufficient evidence in file at the publication date of this emergency message, make the Age 18 Redetermination.
If the evidence in file at the publication date of this emergency message is insufficient to make the Age 18 Redetermination:
a. Do not initiate additional development, such as requesting medical evidence of record (MER) or school records;
b. Do not schedule for consultative examinations (CE); and,
c. Do not assign to medical or psychological consultant(s) for review. ...